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This pattern was featured in an article I wrote for American Angler Magazine for the Summer 2006 issue entitled "Perfect Ten" and Pheasant Tail is listed as my favorite color to fish inside Rocky Mountain National Park. I have caught Bass, Crappie, Perch, Fallfish, Whitefish, Browns, Rainbows, Cutthroat, Brookies and Steelhead with this pattern and the Landlock Salmon will be next to join the list.How to fish Wilcox's Superman:There is just added element of excitement on the river when your partner asks 'what did you get em' on?" and being able to reply SUPERMAN!! Other than being fun to fish because of its name, mostly it just catches a butt load of fish and like the marvel character, Superman always willing come to your rescue. Created as a mayfly attractor it serves well fished as a stonefly and caddis correspondingly, crossing entomological barriers all while being bulletproof. If you are looking for a great new search pattern to try on your next trip this should be your first choice since this has been catching fire across the nation from coast to coast. On cloudy days or during periods of off colored water like during run off and after a rainstorm the blue ones work best, lest you be fooled though they work so well I will fish them with confidence anytime. Match the color and size to the hatches present ie. If there are caddis hatching that have olive size 16 larva than fish an olive 16 Superman, if Little Brown Stones are hatching in a size 14, than fish a size 14 Superman in Pheasant Tail…you get the point and so will the fish. Ouch! Superman fishes excellent as a dropper beneath a dry like a JC Special or Frankenhopper when dropped of the bend of the dry fly anywhere from 18 to 48" below depending on the depth and flow of the water you are fishing. I never fish straight nymph rigs without fishing a double triple or even a quadruple nymph rig (not recommended for the novice angler, but with practice you too can fish four at a time in what I call the buffet) Why do I fish the multiple nymph rigs as opposed to one or two you might ask? Since hatches of different species overlap and fish can be keying in on baetis nymphs even when you see caddis hatching and are unaware of what they are actually feeding on, so fishing multiple species and attractor patterns can be the most effective until you narrow down which insects the fish are keying in on. If you catch four fish in a row on one pattern than chances are you should focus on that particular species of insect, but beware because about the time you get it figured out they might start keying in on the next tray on the buffet line. This pattern has become a go to fly for anglers across the nation and is proving itself a worthy Steelhead pattern too!Basic Nymphing Principles 101 "Wilcox style"My saying about nymphing is "It is easy to learn to nymph fish, but it is hard to be good at it". Nymphing can take a lot of time on the water to learn the idiosyncrasies behind effectively nymphing and to get to the point where you just know what to do when you look at the water you are about to fish. I have taught many anglers this particular method and its general principles and within a matter of minutes they are getting into fish and catching more than they ever have. In my new book, I will be adding much more detail on exactly how to fish this method from where to cast and how to retrieve complete with illustrations and photos to achieve maximum results. The book will also further illustrate how to adjust the weights correctly and types of leaders and tippet lengths for the water you are fishing so look for it in 2008. One of the biggest errors I see made amongst anglers attempting to nymph fish is not using enough weight to get the fly down. I believe patterns like my Superman or John Barr's Copper John have so much success, due to the fact they have enough weight tied into them to get the fly down for the angler without the absolute necessity of adding additional weight. Dummy proof, if you will. Sure, they are great patterns but at the end of the day they are just flies and fishing them correctly, no matter what they are is of the utmost importance, having enough weight built into the fly to get it down goes a long way towards fishing them correctly. Take the time to adjust your weights for different depths and different water conditions; you will catch many more fish than the lazy person who is unwilling to change. I will vary my weight greatly through out the day and even within the same run, I can't tell you how many times adding or subtracting one small weight has yielded several more fish in the same spot I have been working for 20 minutes without a strike. I never fish straight nymph rigs without fishing a double triple or even a quadruple nymph rig (not recommended for the novice angler, but with practice you too can fish four at a time in what I call the buffet) Why do I fish the multiple nymph rigs as opposed to one or two you might ask? ...
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